AYJ supports CRAE and Just for Kids Law’s response to the governments Human Rights Act Reform

The Government has published its plans to revise the Human Rights Act 1998 and replace it with a Bill of Rights which it says will ‘restore a proper balance between the rights of individuals, personal responsibility and the wider public interest’.

The Government is holding a consultation on the proposal and plans to produce an Impact Assessment of all the potential impacts this reform of the Human Rights Act may have once it has considered consultation responses.

AYJ has supported a consultation response by AYJ members the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) and Just for Kids Law (JfKL), along with many more organisations including our members The Children’s Society, Become, NYAS, and New Horizon Youth Centre.

CRAE and JfKL’s response highlights the importance of the Human Rights Act for children and provides key examples of where it has provided protection for some of the most vulnerable children including those in, or at risk of involvement in, the youth justice system. For example, the Human Rights Act:

• Ensured that 17-year-olds were given the right to an appropriate adult at the police station.

• Ensured that children in prison were entitled to the same protection and care as all other children.

• Curtailed police powers to remove children under 16 years old from designated areas.

• Places a duty on public bodies to comply with the human rights protections contained within the Human Rights Act including the police and the youth secure estate and courts.

Ultimately, the response makes clear that the proposals will significantly weaken rights for children and make enforcing them more difficult, and urges the Government to carry out a child rights impact assessment. The response argues that the Human Rights Act already works well, with the necessary checks and balances, and the case has not been made for the changes.

AYJ would like to thank CRAE and JfKL for leading this important response and for the opportunity to support it.

Read the full response here.

UPDATE 22nd April 2022: CRAE led 30 organisations, including the AYJ, in writing a letter to Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, urging him to scrap proposals to replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights. The letter explains that the Human Rights Act provides important protections for children, including those in custody, and must not be diluted in any way. CRAE summarises the call here, and CYPNow reported on the letter here.